Deprivation
by wintered.star
Summary: -/You can't keep him away from me, Kinomiya Hitoshi./- Kai abandoned BBA Revolution, even Takao himself, just to fight and defeat him, and Hitoshi knew that Kai would not settle for anything less. But Kai would have to kill Hitoshi first before Hitoshi would give Kai what he wanted so badly THAT easily. G Revolution, ep. 13, Neo Borg vs. BBA Revolution without Takao. Oneshot.
**_DISCLAIMER:_** If I owned Beyblade, there would be a fourth season with the old cast from seasons 1 to 3 together. Sadly, I could only dream.

 _-Hello, everyone. This fic uses the original version of the series. Also, it's my first time to write Hitoshi (Hiro in the English dub), so I hope I got him right. Anyway, this fic is some sort of an introspective/an_ _expanded_ _scene in episode 13 of G Revolution, right before Kai battles Daichi, during that moment where Kai got angry at Hitoshi for not letting him face Takao. I've always wanted to write this scene between them, so I hope you'll enjoy reading this._

 _-This oneshot also uses mixed points of view of Kai and Hitoshi. Although Takao is not physically present in the story, I included him in the character list because he is the point of tension here. The title might be changed. I couldn't find any exact genre to classify Kai's thoughts and emotions about Hitoshi (and_ especially _Takao), so I used General instead. The Family genre is on Hitoshi's part. If there are any errors that I missed, I'm sorry; please bear with me.  
_

 _-Enjoy. =)_

* * *

 **DEPRIVATION**

* * *

"Now, how will the important first battle play out?!"

He stood still, silent, features etched by a deep frown, the words of the tournament referee seemingly distant. Shut wine eyes now slowly opened, then moved sideways in a displeasured look.

 _You did this on purpose._

Hitoshi, the object of Kai's cross expression, was smirking infuriatingly, meeting his dark stare head-on with arms crossed over his chest.

The beyblader's eyes burned, the stare intensifying into a hissing glare.

 _Give him to me._

Hitoshi's smirk remained.

 _Never._

Bile began to rise up Kai's throat. "I don't like this."

"Three!"

He gave up everything. Forsook everything. Waited so long.

"Two!"

Only to be outright insulted like _this_?

Kai's head bowed, gray bangs shadowing his eyes. _How dare you…_

"One!"

He gritted his teeth. _Don't screw_ _with_ _me!_

Whipping out his shooter, he launched Dranzer as Daichi did Gaia Dragoon at the same time, and the two beyblades collided. To the untrained eye, Dranzer seemed to have been mislaunched, for instead of knocking out Gaia Dragoon or landing on the beystadium, it changed course and headed straight toward the BBA Revolution side, to everyone's great surprise, causing Hiromi and Kyoujyu to jump out of the way and fall on the ground.

Hitoshi, however, made no move to dodge Dranzer, maintaining eye contact with its owner without even flinching as the blue beyblade zoomed past him and struck the back frame of the team's current base. Once Dranzer touched Hitoshi, a rule would have been broken, and a beyblader would have been disqualified. Hitoshi knew that. Kai knew that. And he was pushing the legal boundaries to their limit. But he didn't care, so long as he got his message across.

 _I'll never forgive you._

Everyone was silent, wondering what was going on.

Finally, Dranzer bounced and flew back to Kai, who caught it with his eyes closed. Hitoshi watched, his face giving away nothing.

Kai's glare was smoldering as his eyes opened, spitting out pure venom.

 _You will_ pay. It wasn't a threat.

It was a promise.

"Kai gets a stadium out!" the referee announced as Kai began to walk away. "The winner by default is Sumeragi Daichi!"

Daichi blinked, pointing to himself. "I won?" he uttered in confusion at first. Then it sank into him, and he began jumping around like a monkey in rejoice. "Hurray! I don't know what happened, but I won!"

Hitoshi watched Kai stepping down from his spot. _Think whatever you want._ Kai might not have stayed long enough in BBA Revolution to fully experience being under Hitoshi's watch, but he should have learned by now that Hitoshi wasn't the typical manager. Nor was Hitoshi a foolish one who only had a tunnel vision in decision making. Each decision he made did not necessarily correspond to just one reason. No, rather, they were manifold, a silent expression of multiple unseen roots, making him seem unpredictable or even outright sneaky on the outside. What others thought of his ways, Hitoshi didn't know. And he didn't care, as long as it benefited the team.

And Kai was certainly not an exception to this.

He had always had suspicions that Kai would defect from the team. It was only a matter of time, and it was a choice that Hitoshi had no right to control. Yet there was a part of the older beyblader that had always wanted to grab Kai by his scarf and demanded that Kai should have done it much earlier, preferably a little later after Rei and Max had left. To turn against his own partner for the chance of defeating him as his greatest rival, to do it at the pinnacle of Takao's hope and desperation that his _only remaining loyal_ friend would share his passion to win the championship _together_ , to actually make his move while the tournament, even if just after the preliminaries, was _ongoing_ already... Kai had just personally delivered Takao the biggest punch in the gut.

 _If only you knew how badly he wanted you to be his partner, how much he believed that you were. No. You_ knew _._

 _But I suppose you don't care about that._

It was a fact that Hitoshi was BBA Revolution's manager and that under his supervision, Takao was just like any member, with no special treatment. But at the same time, he was also Takao's older brother. There was always a distinct line separating such double roles. Yet somehow, that line had blurred.

With what was once the intact BBA Team now fallen apart, Takao's true character and perception about himself and others were exposed and put to the test. Still, no matter how hurt he was, it was no excuse to continue bringing down the BBA Revolution team along with him, starting with this match with Neo Borg. Takao had to learn his personal lessons, even if it could mean the painful way. Sometimes, it was the only way to mature him and rein in his swelling ego, even as far as to humble him. Sometimes, it took letting go of situations out of one's control to get ahold of oneself. Sometimes, it took losing important people to gain sight of other important, yet neglected, things. But while all these were true, Hitoshi never approved of anyone disposing of his own brother just like that.

He continued to watch as Yuriy crossed paths with Kai to take his turn. As Shippu no Jin, even as a manager, Hitoshi was used to reading each real expression behind the current mask of a beyblader. He was always two steps ahead. And right now, behind Kai's hard mask was the face of someone who had been up all night, unable to shake off the anticipation of facing the very one who excited his blood the most in beyblading. Someone who had been willing to throw away everything, even loyalty, just for this shot of battling this person to satisfy himself so deeply with victory. Someone who now had been socked hard in the stomach by that person's absence.

The face of someone who had been betrayed.

 _It wouldn't be fair that Takao's the only one who had to suffer. Hiwatari Kai, now taste just how bitter your own medicine really is._

Finally, he directed his gaze at the beystadium. Footsteps sounded along the grass, and he knew that Kai had already reached his team's side _._ The Neo Borg member sat still in silence, the inner thrill of facing his opponent dissipated already.

There was no point about it, after all. Kai would never accept a cheap victory over an opponent whom he didn't want. The BBA Revolution manager knew that Kai also would never be satisfied with the present Takao that _Kai_ himself had broken in the first place.

 _Relax, Kai. I will show him to you at the right time._ Hitoshi would make Takao stronger and more powerful, with a raised and burning fighting spirit and a focused mind. Takao would be standing at an even grander stage, with an even more heightened audience anticipation compared to what he and Kai could have had with their battle now, with Takao being at his most aggressive. _Think of it as a favor from me, if you will._

 _But until then, you'll just have to wait._

* * *

The match was over, but he couldn't calm down.

 _You can't keep him away from me, Kinomiya Hitoshi._

Audible footsteps echoed along the quiet and empty hallway of the stadium.

 _I must see him… I_ need _to see him…_ The words resounded with each step he took. Thinking about him always left him restless ever since he had left the team. Ever since he had left _him_.

His gaze tried to stretch ahead of him, but all he could see was the back of that person who wasn't even there. That person who seemed to keep on walking ahead of him, away from him. That person whom he wanted now to turn around and face him with those earth eyes hardened yet brightened by determination as he took his stance against him. How he desired the thrill of being alone with him in their own world, in a moment that could last forever, in that rivalry that only they could understand without any thought about anything else. Him, an old-time challenge to overcome who made him thirst. Him, the only one worthy of being the epitome of the sport and victory, for whom his soul burned with intense hunger. Him, whose absence bothered and frustrated him beyond words.

But it didn't mean that he would settle for anything less. His hands balled into fists, eyes lit with fire as the phantom image slowly vanished. _No._

He would not be deprived of anymore. The world could not deny him of that person forever. Hitoshi could not make that person stay away forever. And Kai would never accept anything or anyone he didn't want.

 _Just you... Only you... I won't have anyone else but you…_

 _Kinomiya._

 _[The End]_

* * *

 _So how was it? Good? Bad? Enjoyed it? Please let me know what you think by leaving your comments below. Fellow writers, readers, m_ _ _embers, and non-members of fanfiction . net_ are welcome to do so. I'd like to at least know how I'm doing so far here in this site and if people still support Beyblade (it seems to be dying already?). Thanks a bunch! =)_


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